Trace connecter for hames



March 17, 1925.

I R. P. CARR TRACE CONNEC'IER FOR-HAMEVS Filed Oct. 5, 1924 I Patented Mar. 17, 1925 UNITED TATES PATENT OFFICE.

norna'r r. cane, or rprrano, new ong, nssicnon. To U. s. HAME COMPANY, or

' i ii EUFW 'N rose v TRACE connncrnn FOR HAMES.

Application no 0mm 3, .9. T .8 1 3j ,2.

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, :Roisnnr P. Genre, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buifalmin thecounty of E fieand fitate of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trace Gonnecters for ames, .ofwhich thefQlIQWing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in trace ordraft connecters of the kind which are commonly referred ,to asrat chets and which are attached to hames and are provided with a series of holes or openings in any of which the usual tracegshooks are adapted to engage to vary the elevation at which'the draft-is applied tofthe haines.

Heretofore these trace connectors have been made of malleable iron and in view of the fact'thatlthese devices when in use are subjected tov severe strain, it has not been praet'icalto make them of stamped or drawn metal.

The objects ofthis inventionare to provide .a trace connector or hame ratchet which is so constructed that the same can be made of stamped or drawn sheet metal; also to improve the construction of devices of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fi 1 is a face view of a metal blank from which a trace connecterembodying my inventionis made.

Fig. 2 is'a face view of the completed trace connecter. I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a hame provided with a trace connecter embodying the invention.

Figs. 5 and 6 aretransverse sectional elevations thereof on line 5-5 and 6-6 respectively.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional elevation thereofon line 7-7, Fig.2.

Referring to Fig. 4, Arep-resents a hame which may be of any usual .or suitable construction and having the usual rein ring a secured to the upper portion thereof and V the hame loop a at the lower end thereof.

B represents the trace connecter or .fratchetg as it is commonly called, is rigidly secured to the hame and is provided with a plurality of holes into which a trace hook b is adapted toenter, the holes being provided to permit the draft strains from the tug or trace to be applied to that portion of the heme which best suits the particular animal on which the hame is used. The trace connecter or ratchet also supports a breast strap ring I) at .the lower portion thereof.

I My improved trace connector, as best shown in Figs. 2'a11d. 3 includes two substantiallyfiat end portions 10 and ll which are provided with any suitable means for securing the connecter to a hame, such as the usual holes through .whichrivets or bolts are adapted to pass the ends of the connecter being connected by a longitudinal bridge portion or rib 12, from which side flanges .13 and 14 extend laterally. The

outer edges of the flanges extend into substantially the same plane as the endfpor- ,tions 10 and ;Hand are adapted to contact or he againsta side of a hame and each of the flanges is provided with a series of holes :15, one hole of each flange being .disposed oppositely to a hole in the opposite flange and adjacent holes are preferably spaced apart at equal distances so that the two hooked portions 6 Fig. 4, usuallyprovided on-trace hooks b may be passed through adjacent pairs of holes 15 to pernecter the bridge portion is bent or inclined as indicated at 1-7 and 18, the bent portions terminating in the end portions 10 and 11 respectively of the trace connecter. The inclined bent portions 17 and 18 of the bridge member or rib are also of channel-shaped cross section so that the entire rib or bridge member is of rigid construction and is well adapted to resist the strain to which the trace connecter is subjected in use.

The portions of the metal surrounding the holes 15 adjacent to the bridge portion of the trace connecter are preferably bent inwardly toward each other as shown at 20, and this is preferably done without rupturing the metal adjacent to the holes 15. By means of this formation of the metal at the upper portion of the holes 15, the hooked portions of the trace hooks b may be readily inserted through adjacent pairs of holes to grip or engage the rib portion of the trace connecter, and by means of this construction the strength of the rib member is not impaired as it would be if the holes were cut out to a greater extent to accommodate the trace hooks.

In the manufacture of the trace connecter the metal from which the connecter is made is first stamped out in the form of a fiat blank as shown in Fig. 1, after which the flat blanks are placed into a die and pressed into the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The blank shown in Fig. 1 is provided near one end with recesses 21 in the opposite sides thereof, which when the trace connecter is bent into the desired shape, forms a recess 22 which is adapted to receive the breast strap ring I). At the other end of the blank shown in Fig. 1 a pair of indentations or recesses 24 is formed, one of these recesses being formed at each side of the blank, which, when the trace connecter is completed, form the recesses 25 therein. The recesses 21 and 2st in the blank are quite essential to the successful manufacture of these trace connecters for the reason that in forming the blank into a finished trace connecter, the inclined portions 17 and 18 at the opposite ends of the bridge portion or rib of the trace connecter are bent toward the ends of the flanges 13 and 14, so that the recesses are considerably reduced in size during the forming process, as will be evident in comparing Figs. 1 and 2. Consequently it won d be extremely difficult if not impossibleto form the connecter by means of a die, unless recesses were provided between the opposite flanged port-ions 13 and 1st of the trace connector and the end portions 10 and 11 thereof, since otherwise the portions of the flanges adjacent to the opposite ends of the trace connecter would have to be deformed or buckled, and this would cause breaking of dies, as well as weakening the trace connecter near the ends thereof. By making the opposite inclined end of the bridge portion or rib of the trace connecter of substantially U-shaped cross section, the strength of the trace connecter is not in any way impaired by the recesses or depressions 22 and 25 therein.

I claim as my invention:

1. A trace connecter'made of a single plece ofsheet metal bent to form a substantially central longitudinally extending rib of archshaped cross section and flanges extending laterally from said rib and provided with oppositely arranged holes through which a trace hook may be inserted.

2. A trace connecter made of a single piece of sheet metal bent to form a substantially central longitudinally extending rib of archshaped cross section and flanges extending laterally from said rib and provided with oppositely arranged holes through which a trace hook may be inserted, said rib terminating in end portions adapted to be secured to ahame.

3. A trace connecter made of a single piece of sheet metal bent to form a substantlally central longitudinally extending rib of archshaped cross section and flanges extending laterally from said rib and provided with oppositely arranged holes through which a trace hook may be inserted, said ribhaving oppositely inclined portions which are also of arch shaped cross section and which terminate in end portions adapted to be secured to a hame.

4. A trace connecter made from a single flat piece of sheet metal and bent into substantially trough shape, said connecter including a central rib portion extending longitudinally thereof and which is of chan nel shaped cross section and from which flanges extend laterally in opposite directions and at an inclination from said rib portion, said flanges being provided with holes into which a trace hook may be inserted, and recesses at opposite ends of said flanges which extend laterally from the edges of said trace connecter toward the rib thereof.

5. A trace connecter made from a single flat piece of sheet metal and bent into substantially trough shape, said connecter including a central rib portion extending longitudinally thereof and which is of channel shaped cross section and from which flanges extend laterally in opposite directions and at an inclination from said rib portion, said flanges being provided with holes into which a trace hook may be inserted, and recesses at opposite ends of said flanges which extend laterally from the edges of said trace connecter toward the rib thereof, said rib having oppositely inclined end portions adjacent to said recesses, said end portions being bent in a direction to partially close said recesses.

.6. A trace connecter made from a single fiat piece of sheet metal and bent into substantially trough shape, said connecter inholes into which a trace hook may be including a central rib portion extending serted, said holes terminating in proximity I longitudinally thereof and which is of chanto said rib portion and the metal about the 1 nel shaped cross section and from which holes adjacent to said rib portion being 5 fla ges exte d laterally in p osit dire bent inwardly to facilitate the insertion of tions and at an inclination from said rib tr ce hook. portion, said flanges being provided with ROBERT P. CARR. 

